Building athletes who are strong, healthy, and resilient requires more than sets and reps, starting with a shift in mindset. Christi Edson, Head of Performance for the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), shares how she integrates strength and conditioning with sport science to sustain athlete health and performance. She reflects on the field’s evolution from the well-known “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” program to a training culture emphasizing resilience, active recovery, and durability. Drawing from her experience coaching high school athletes to NWSL professionals, Edson highlights the adaptability and creativity coaches need. Those qualities help her to develop athletes who can thrive through a demanding 11-month season. She details how tools like GPS, force plates, and velocity-based training sharpen communication and reshape expectations in the gym. Her story points coaches toward the future of athlete development: collaboration, precise load management, and long-term health as the foundation of strength. Connect with Christi on Instagram: @christiedson and LinkedIn: @christiana-edson | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Read the article, “A Creative Mind in the Professional Development of a Strength and Conditioning Coach,” from NSCA Coach, 11(1), February 2024 — referenced in this episode’s return-to-play discussion. NSCA Members enjoy full publication access. Interested in bridging coaching and sport science? The Certified Performance and Sport Scientist (CPSS) credential can help you expand your qualifications, open new career paths, and strengthen cross-department collaboration.

This TSAC Report article discusses the training load of GPS technology and blood lactate monitoring for first responders. Visit NSCA online to learn more about tactical fitness.

The primary focus of this article is to provide personal trainers with an evidence- and practice-based approach to exercise selection and implementation in those with low back pain.

Even though most high school athletes feel as though their diet is sufficient in quality and caloric value, this session from the 2015 NSCA National Conference explains that high school athletes usually do not meet their caloric needs to support their training volume. Tavis Piattoly identifies the challenges high school athletes face regarding their nutrition and the strategies that can be used to correct these issues.

Discover how hospitality-focused ownership and management can create a gym that attracts and retains members for long-term success. Visit NSCA online to read more on professional development, the fitness industry, and health.

The “7 Secret Weapons to Sales Success” were developed through interviewing some of the most successful personal trainers in the country, capturing the most relevant concepts from over a dozen sales books, and, most importantly, applying these concepts in the field with actual trainers. In this session from the 2015 NSCA Personal Trainers Conference, Robert Lewis Jr. empowers fitness professionals to take their career to new heights.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the health and occupational implications of firefighters not currently meeting the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) aerobic capacity recommendations.

This NSCA Coach article summarizes key findings on coach-focused strategies to help educators use resistance training to support healthy youth development. Visit NSCA online to read more on mental health and youth sports.

This article discusses lactate testing as a cost-effective alternative way to create advanced exercise prescriptions, as well as opening the possibility of being a new biomarker of metabolic health for personal trainers.

The purpose of this article is to shed light on the most current work that has been done in examining various dietary approaches to improving markers of cardiometabolic health and performance among high-stress occupations, such as firefighters, as well as the need for additional work in this area.